Chương 123: Arc 2 - Chapter 65

The lunch Cal cooked up for the team as they waited for the sea to cool was a fine feast. Or could have been, Fritz supposed, as he himself couldn't focus on the flavours. It seemed he wasn't alone in his distraction, even as they praised the food, especially the sand shark in blood lime sauce, they found themselves trailing off as they spoke or just staring at the steaming water. Cal was less than enthused by the lacklustre praise, but he too kept looking over his shoulder and almost burnt a portion of their meat.

Though no one but Fritz seemed to notice that. He gave the man a sympathetic smile which he returned with a slight shrug as if to say, "What can you do?" It took six minutes for the boiling in the basin to stop, but it was almost thirty minutes before the steam ceased rising from the sea's surface. Once the warm fog had cleared, they quickly concluded it was safe enough for Bert to swim down to rip anything of value from the Eel's charred corpse.

Lauren also offered to perform the task, stating that perhaps her Fire Resistance would make her more suited to the task.

"You might not be strong enough to get to the good stuff, like the Seed and the lightning stone," Bert said. Lauren nodded thoughtfully.

"Perhaps you're right."

"Why not just drag it up?" Cal asked.

"What?" Bert asked.

"Drag the whole corpse up," Cal repeated.

"A brilliant idea," Bert proclaimed.

"You can come with me, between the two of us we can haul the thing up easily." Cal paled a little, but nodded in agreement once Lauren assured him she'd soothe his burns if he suffered any. Bert dived in first, resurfacing swiftly only to beckon the still reluctant man to follow with an insistent gesture.

"Its hot, but not too hot," Bert claimed.

"Get in here!" Cal sighed, then leapt from the rootbank, splashing then sinking below the water. A minute later the two appeared with the Eel's blackened, massive skull. They heaved it onto the roots and George whistled.

"Where's the rest?" Fritz asked.

"You'll get it in a minute," Bert replied, sucking in a long breath.

"It was too awkward to move the entire thing," Cal explained.

"We broke it into chunks."

"Oh, good, I was afraid it had all turned to ash or something," Fritz said.

"Most of it did," Bert said.

"But you'll see that soon. Come, Cal, let's gather the rest for our lord." They dived again, and after three trips into the depths, the whole Eel had been brought to one of the large rootbanks where the team began to break apart and salvage what they could of the creature's charcoal carcass.

"Most of it is ruined," Lauren observed. She sighed.

"I guess that's the cost of using that poison."

"Or overkill in general," Toby added.

"I, for one, consider overkill to be far more preferable to underkill," Fritz proclaimed.

"Need I remind you what that thing could have done to us if we didn't throw absolutely everything we had at it?"

"For once, you're right," Toby allowed.

"I'm always right, you just haven't seen the whole scheme yet. My great plan has been years in the making. Its myriad mysteries and countless complexities would shatter your minute mortal minds," Fritz lied easily. Jane snorted and Toby shook his head, smirking slightly.

"Is this about your conspiracy to throw Rain City into chaos?" Bert hissed in a loud whisper.

"I thought that was a supreme secret."

"Quiet, fool! Don't let the non-conspirators hear you, some might be the king's spies," Fritz said replying in his own false whisper and glancing around with exaggerated suspicion.

"What are you two blathering about? Even in jest, why are you playing with treason?" Lauren asked, seemingly annoyed.

"And why aren't you searching for the Seed with the rest of us?" She added, wiping a soot-stained hand over her brow and leaving a long, black smudge.

"That's a good question. Must be all the excitement. Let's get to work," Bert said.

"Fritz, come on, you too."

"Must I?" Fritz sighed, only mostly putting on the weariness in his tone.

"You must," Bert stated.

"You may be a lord, but I won't let you be a lazy one." Fritz smiled and joined the team in picking the corpse clean of anything valuable. He discovered that there really wasn't all that much to pick, it was as if the Eel had been placed in a forge and left to burn for hours. Its body had been reduced to charcoal and broke apart in tough chunks. Its bones had suffered the same forge fire fate and only the monster's spine remained.

The outside of that bony length was as black as the rest of the body, but below that brittle, baked, surface there was a long, intertwined rope of copper and gold cords that ran down the entire spine.

"Makes me almost want to go back and check the other eels," Bert said hefting the rope of precious metal.

"We could do the same thing as we did with the clearblood eels," Rosie suggested.

"Gods! No!" Fritz cried and his vehemence was echoed by the rest of the team. The last they wanted to do was fight another lightning eel.

"If I ever see another one of those bastards, it will be thirty years too soon," Lauren said with uncommon vulgarity. No one noted that breach of etiquette though, instead they merely nodded in agreement.

"Ah! I think this is it," Bert cried, spotting something. Before Fritz could remind and warn the man about the lightning stones there was the familiar crack and flash of blue-white light. Bert was sent sprawling as he yelled, "Ouch!" Lauren rushed to the man as did Jane. On his back, Bert began to laugh as pale green light eased the burns on his smoking hand.

"Found the stone," Bert stated.

"It's got a little more bite than the smaller ones. Maybe I shouldn't have taken off those gross gloves."

"Serves you right, and don't call the gloves I sewed for you gross," Jane sniffed.

"Cal, have we got any more eel skin?" Lauren asked.

"To wrap the stone?"

"Only what they're wearing," Cal said motioning to both Bert and Rosie.

"Just shove it in that foul glove," Fritz said.

"What did I just say?" Jane asked.

"I didn't call them gross, I called them foul," Fritz pointed out.

"You know what I mean," she said though there was very little heat to the words, in fact, all the bickering had quite a light tone to it. Something Fritz was glad for, it meant that the precipice conversations, contracts and conditions he would have to contrive were likely to be well received. Without further blasts of lightning the stone was carefully removed, this one looked less like coal veined with copper and more like an orb of obsidian set with smooth lines of copper.

It was potent, far more potent than the lesser stones of the lesser eels, and it hummed with a deep, deadly power.

"Whoa," Bert exhaled as he held the head-sized stone up for the others to see. Some murmured in appreciation, but most stepped back from the man and the stone lest they suffer the same sizzling fate of being shocked. It was put away swiftly, but not before being stuffed into as much eel skin as they could spare. Eventually, they discovered what they were truly looking for, the aberrant Seed. It was similar to the lightning stone, if twisted and malformed and more an oval than a sphere.

It was also of dark stone and riddled with odd, erratic lines of gold and copper.

"Wow," Cal said. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"It looks weird," Rosie stated.

"Of course it does, it's aberrant," Lauren said.

"So you can use this like other Seeds?" Rosie asked, eyeing the thing greedily.

"No," Lauren said seriously.

"It needs to be refined first. Using one raw is the height of foolishness, all kinds of things can go wrong. Magical stunting, mutation, madness and even death await those who would attempt such a thing."

"Oh. Yeah, I've heard that," Rosie said scratching her head and thinking.

"Yes, only a fool would do such a thing, a complete idiot, a cretin of the highest order," Bert said, grinning the whole time.

"Don't you dare use it, Bert," Jane accused.

"I won't," Bert said.

"I was just saying that you would have to be feeble-minded to do such a thing. A real moron." Fritz smiled blandly, hiding his annoyance and smoothing his frown.

"What do we do with it?" He asked, diverting the conversation.

"Depends, if someone wants lighting or 'eel' powers: we have it refined. If we can afford it. Or we sell it for quite a lot of gold," Lauren said.

"If we take it to one of the Treasury's auctions we might get thousands of triads for it." Toby and Jane hissed in surprised breaths.

"That's a lot of gold," Jane nearly whispered.

"It is. Though let's talk about gold and its division once we're actually at the precipice," Fritz declared.

"Did we find anything else useful on the eel?"

"Just its fangs, there's a lingering hint of lightning on them," Lauren said.

"Too bad the rest of the beast was burnt away, no scales or meat," Bert bemoaned, and not for the first time.

"Well, if that's it, we better get moving," Fritz stated.

"The precipice awaits and new power is ours to seize." There were excited smiles and nods at the proclamation, and soon they were all packed up and ready to swim over the basin and to the great tree. With splashing and sloshing, they waded into the water and began to swim. While they did so something in the clear depths caught Fritz's eye. A glittering of bronze. He stopped suddenly, treading water to stay afloat, aided by the buoyancy of his traveller's pack.

"Hey! I see something!" Fritz called out, causing them all to similarly stop and stare around.

"What!? Bert cried.

"Is it another eel?"

"No, can you see that glimmer of bronze?" Fritz asked motioning to the hole, actually more a cave, tucked under the great tree's roots.

"Maybe," Bert hedged.

"Is it a chest?"

"Could be. Slap on some gill-grease and go check," Fritz ordered "We'll wait for you at the tree."

"Yes, captain," Bert said, then after applying the fish guts scented stuff he handed off his own travellers pack to Fritz, letting him sink to the bottom with surprising speed.

"No use waiting," Fritz said.

"Let's get to that tree." Soon they were gathered on the tree's great roots and waiting for Bert to appear with what could be a chest, though it was likely something far more mundane. After a couple of minutes, Fritz started to get nervous.

"Do you think an eel got him?" Rosie asked with unusual worry in her voice.

"No," George said, but he didn't elaborate on his reasoning. Then Fritz could see him, kicking mighty legs and holding not one but two objects one under each of his arms.

"There he is," Fritz said pointing out the man's swimming figure.

"Oh, yeah, I see him!" Cal shouted.

"Is that two chests?" Jane asked eagerly.

"It might just be," Fritz confirmed though he doubted his own eyes. Bert broke the surface with a splash, then yelled, "Catch!" He threw the first chest clumsily with one hand, and the second one easily with both. Cal only just caught the one thrown to him while the other fell neatly into Rosie's outstretched arms.

"Whoa!" George cried. And he wasn't the only one to yell in excitement. All save Fritz, who was maintaining a calm yet delighted facade, made some kind of exclamation, be it an excited scream or wordless whoop. Both the chests were banded with bronze, and Fritz thought it a shame they weren't silver or gold, though the fact there were two of them reduced his resentments.

"Two whole chests. What a delight," Fritz tried to say mildly, but he was grinning ear to ear just as Bert was.

"That's not the best part," Bert stated.

"Oh, and what is?" Fritz enquired.

"There's another one, and something even better," Bert claimed.

"Where is it?" Fritz asked, searching the man for hidden treasure.

"I left it down there, only have two hands," Bert chided smugly.

"Not a squid you know."

"You've the brains of one," Fritz reflexively retorted.

"Now use the arms you do have to go get the last chest."

"As you command," Bert laughed, diving again. Fritz and the team waited patiently, or as patiently as they could with two bronze chests basically begging to be opened. They held fast, not letting their greedy natures get the best of them and soon Bert appeared again, bursting out from the water with another bronze banded chest and something that looked like a clear orb with some blurry substance in its centre. He threw the chest without much care, handling the stone far more gently.

He cradled the thing under one arm as he clambered up the roots. Fritz held out a hand and Bert took it, letting himself be pulled up.

"What is that? A gem?" Fritz asked.

"An egg," Bert corrected, and as if he had planned it the cloudy ball within the clear sphere sparked slightly.

"The aberrant eel's egg?" Jane breathed her face one of surprise and sudden calculation.

"That's perfect."

"Perfect for what?" Lauren asked sceptically.

"None of us are beastmasters. They are exceedingly rare outside of the Primal Aligned Spires."

"Though this Spire is technically a Primal Spire if very weakly so," she added, correcting herself.

"I'm afraid it wouldn't fetch a high price unless maybe a Jastili merchant would buy it. Even then the cost of keeping it alive, unborn and unbonded might make that too much of a liability."

"No, nothing to do with selling it," Jane said.

"Or holding onto it."

"Then what?" Lauren asked.

"It's ahh, uh... a secret," Jane said, lamely.

"Nevermind that, let's drag these chests to the Stairway," Fritz said, cutting off any more inquiries. Convinced as he was that it had something to do with their predicament on the outside and didn't want to have that conversation there and then.

"We can open these chests in the safety of the Well room, we've spent too much time lingering on this floor already. I for one will be happy to be healed and receive our well-earned rewards."

"And be out of the spite," Cal added hopefully.

"That too," Fritz said. There was a smattering of agreement and a lot of nodding, so they gathered up their packs, the chests, and began the treacherous route over the roots. It didn't take long before they were in front of the Stairway. The sight of the Door and the stairs brought with it a swell of sublime elation, there were cheers and much backslapping. Some nearly cried in happiness and many did.

Weeping openly, but saying not a word George wiped away his tears with a patch of sirensilk and he wasn't the only one. Fritz and Bert, as experienced veterans of such extremes of emotion merely grinned on as the rest of the crew, especially Toby and Jane, trudged up the stairs in teary relief and giddy triumph. Fritz was first into the Door as was proper, he led them going in so he'd lead them going out. And so it was he who had the honour to be the first to gaze upon the Well room.

He strode across those scaly stone floors, passing by pillars in that same ever-present pattern. As soon as he set foot in the room he could feel the spite retreating, that heavy blanket and irrepressible ire lifting away from his shoulders and leaving him feeling as free as a bird. He hadn't realised just how much the spite had been weighing on him, it was like he had been carrying a great stone on his back and only now had it fallen away.

Every stride came quicker, easier, and soon he was strutting rather than striding, revelling in the release. There were sighs of relief behind him and mumbles that varied from thanking the gods to cursing the spite. As Fritz walked, searching for the Well, he took in the room. It had a roof of scaled stone held up by pillars and walls of glass. Those clear window-walls revealed a grand view of Rain City in all its sunken grandeur and drowning disgrace, but he didn't let the sight distract him.

There, in the centre of the room past all the ordered pillars, was the Well. It was a great fountain carved in the likeness of a merfolk man in ornate robes and holding a staff that sprayed water in a high, thin dome around it. Fritz vaguely recognised the merfolk's regal, handsome features, but didn't know exactly where he'd seen them before. He supposed it was likely from some ball or party he'd been forced to attend to by his parents.

With a shake of his head, he cleared his thoughts, denying his mind as it attempted to dredge up old, sharp memories from the mud of his past. Steadily, he made his way to the fountain and was soon overtaken by the rest of the team running past him, trying to be the first to lay their hands on the merfolk statue. The Well pulsed with gold, illuminating the room with lustrous light.

The dome of falling water shimmered, catching the bright brilliance and looking as though there were a protective sphere of radiance around the sculpted man. The team ran into the fountain's shallow basin, but stopped on their heels before they touched the scintillating spray cascading from the slender staff.

"Go on, go through it's just a trick of the light, it won't harm you," Fritz stated surely. They didn't need much more encouragement and they slipped through the sheet of water and waded their way to the splendid sculpture, touching it tentatively with outstretched fingers, some of which trembled in excitement. Fritz was able to catch Bert before the two of them partook in the Well energies, whispering to him while the rest were distracted.

"When the Golden chest appears put it straight into your pack, don't let the team see we also got them," Fritz said.

"Isn't it a bit late for all that," Bert grumbled.

"They probably know about our levels already, or have guessed. And Jane and Toby will know for sure. Why keep up the lie?" The comment gave Fritz pause, and he wondered if there was much point to keeping up all the deceptions he had woven. Some part of him wanted to be done with the lies, but a greater more paranoid part of him knew he had to hide as much of his power as possible lest he be scraped away like a skulg by the rulers of Rain City. Either to be used until useless or killed if he proved too pernicious.

"Just do it for now," Fritz said.

"Their ignorance is a shield for both them and us. The less they know the better." Bert considered it and shrugged.

"Now, let's go grab our rewards," Fritz said, smiling wide. Bert grinned and they made their way to the Well. The team were already sitting in a loose circle, seemingly not minding they were almost up to their shoulders in the basin's water. They were obviously deep within their Sanctums and considering their choices, completely entranced.

Fritz sloshed past Jane and Toby, and placed a hand on the sculpture, and although he felt he really should know the carved man he ignored that feeling and instead focused on the energies pouring up his arm and into his centre. The Power burned coldly, but he was used to that freezing heat by now and it brought him pleasure rather than pain. He stepped back, then found somewhere more out of the way to fall into his Sanctum, Bert joined him and together they sat.

With one last smile and grin, they closed their eyes and fell. Fritz found himself in his drizzling garden, standing in shadows below the slowly waving branches of his willow. Rain dripped from dark leaves, spattering his face and clothes. In the sky, bolts of energy danced in hues of gold, silver and bronze. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, getting his nerves under his control he let the offerings come to him. They appeared in his mind as glyphs, humming with power and purpose.

Ability Evolution Illusory Shadow Choose One Adhesive Gloom Illusory Shadow will be able to adhere to a physical surface. Cost increase: Two.

Long Night Illusory Shadow's duration will be increased threefold. Cost increase: One.

Vast Dark Illusory Shadow's radius will be increased threefold. Cost increase: One.

Trait or Strain Choose One Strain: Merfolk Born to water, with scale and gill, to rule the seas, with ocean's will. Activate and Align six points to the following advanced attributes: Essence of Water, Durability. Evolve into Merfolk Strain, changing your body in many ways, including, but not limited to, growing scales and gills. Increases resistance to pressure and cold. Alignment: Body, Primal, Water. Cost: None. Duration: Permanent. Refresh: None.

You have spent many hours in the water. You have slain many sea-beasts. Influenced by Spire. Influenced by Authority. (Decree) Hand of Eldritch Flame A touch of chaos, a gift of pains, the burning hand, c hars the chains. Coat your hand in Eldritch Flame. Alignment: Chaos, Fire, Ruin, Shadow. Cost: One per minute. Duration: Channelled. Refresh: None.

You have slain a powerful foe with fire. Influenced by Refinement. Influenced by Shaping. Influenced by Sanctum.

Venomous Fangs Sharp and sudden, a viper's bite, fangs flush fully, with all your spite. You grow glands that produce venom and fangs capable of delivering it. You gain resistance to poisons you produce. Activate and Align twelve points to the following Advanced Attribute: Venomwell. Alignment: Body, Poison, Primal. Cost: None Duration: Passive. Refresh: None.

You have slain a powerful foe with the aid of venom. You have endured and recovered from being poisoned. Influenced by Path (Spy). Influenced by Spire.

Attributes Gained +3 Unaligned Fritz looked them over carefully, he saw what was offered, and he sighed.

"Well, looks like I have some interesting choices."